voice | morning>day | 001>002

[lonelynotforsaken]

[ LO431Y | VOICE | 001 ]

[Martin's day isn't going well. And he's shouting as loudly as Squalo had been on the first communication. He's also very clearly running.]

May day! May day may day may day! Oh, god! Oh, god! May day! There's- Drone. Electricity spikes. Oh, god! East jungle. Close to shore!

[His responses to things may be delayed depending on whether or not he can escape the thing.]

Comments

[aluminumandash]

Thank you. [ He says, more focused. ] Soon as it's light I'll go looking. He said he was drawing arrows in the sand. And I can track, but not...

[ Whatever the fuck the thing that might have killed him is. ]

[cactusy]

Keep an eye out for hiding places as you go. Good chance those drones have cameras on them too, so be careful.

[aluminumandash]

Yeah, I had a run-in. All but pinned me down. Which'd mean it's, ah, motion-detection, not heat-seeking? [ A rare note of uncertainty in his voice. ] Or someone on the other end. Seemed pretty fucking inhuman, though.

[salamanca]

But somebody has to maintain these things, right? They can't just take care of themselves. [ Can they?? He doesn't fucking know. Apparently everyone knows what a drone is but him. ]

So theoretically someone could be driving them too? Right? Or at least programming their paths, telling them what to do or where to go ahead of time.

[aluminumandash]

[ Since he figures learning about the drones'll help de Guzman steer the kid clear of them, Rust doesn't tell him to fuck off and go back to sleep. ]

That is how machines work.

[salamanca]

Okay, okay. Sorry. Jeez.

[ Another text, right after the other. ]

So what do we do? :(

[aluminumandash]

Wait and see if there's a body.

[cactusy]

They are. But DI4's right, everything that's electronic has a human involved somewhere.

[aluminumandash]

[ Indulging in some irritation: ] Obviously. I meant the way it moved. Unhesitating, unerring.

[cactusy]

Is this your first time seeing a drone in real life?

[aluminumandash]

[ A huffy: ] Uh-huh.

[ But soon enough he resumes his usual toneless drawl. ] So, what, they're programmed to surveil and detain [ he warps the word, sharp skepticism to it ] unauthorized visitors. What is this, some kinda top-secret paramilitary installation?

[cactusy]

There's a lot of things it could be.

[Including, for instance, a virtual reality simulation that exists entirely in her own head, but that's a little theory that she's going to just go ahead and keep to herself.]

Wouldn't rule out behavior experiments, either. Zimbardo two-point-oh.

[aluminumandash]

[ Consider: subjective human experience doesn't constitute reality anyway.

He thinks on it a long moment. ] Ah, I'd skew the hell out of that dataset. [ It'd never qualify as a joke, but there's a humorous strain to the words, a dip in his voice. ] What about you?

[cactusy]

Same. Hell, maybe that's the point.

[aluminumandash]

[ There's a pause. His thoughts are orderly, orderly enough for him to consider and discard them one by one. ] This isn't some kinda [ a vague hum before he settles on the word ] self-castigation ritual, trying to raise him on the walkie. I don't sleep, is the thing.

[cactusy]

Sounds like a great way to get dead.

[aluminumandash]

The alternatives ain't so hot either. Were they on hand.

Just telling you so you know what you're dealing with.

[cactusy]

Noted.

text | callsign: DI481O

[salamanca]

Cameras? For what, do you think? How do you know?

[ Some of us are actively faking our own deaths and don't need our very alive image captured anywhere, thanks! ]

text | callsign: DI481O

[cactusy]

I don't know, but they're behaving like surveillance drones. Not much point in surveilling if there's no footage for actual human beings to use.

[salamanca]

[ Well, the logic is solid. He can't argue with her, even though what she's saying makes his blood turn ice cold. He hasn't see any drones yet, which, he hopes, means they haven't seen him. ]

Ever read Slaughterhouse Five?

[ Lalo has, but not in years; it was required reading in high school or he wouldn't have bothered. This woman seems bright, though, and he can guess she's relatively educated. He trusts she'll get the implication, but if not, he's happy to spell it out for her. ]

[cactusy]

If we're in a zoo on Tralawhatever, I'm going to take my chances with the ocean and swim for it.

[salamanca]

Ha! Might join you.